When Richelle‘s Mascotte EP came out in April, it was received with widespread acclaim for its creativity and flawless execution, and it still stands as one of the most exciting releases of 2011. After a relatively quiet 6 months the producer is back with a scorching new EP titled On The Track on Pelican Fly, the Belgium-based label he co-founded with DJ Slow. If you’ve been following the Pelican Fly camp at all you know exactly what to expect out of this release: anthemic, hyperactive tracks with impossibly deep low-end experimentation, and a diverse offering of remixes from innovative producers.

“I Think” opens the EP in welcome and familiar fashion, fusing together an arsenal of shimmering neon synths with crunk vocal samples and paranoid rhythms that refuse to settle into any particular groove for too long. Between the depth-charge kick drums, menacing piano, and deceptively simple synth constructions, it’s hard to resist comparisons to Kingdom, JTRP, or Jay Weed. As accurate as they may be, though, these comparisons would belittle the originality Richelle demonstrates in his approach to this sound throughout the three tracks that comprise the EP. On “Don’t Do,” which revolves around a pitched-down vocal snippet, he employs rumbling percussion echoes and thin, resonant bells to create a tense atmosphere that has a certain militant aggression to it. Finally, displaying some of the minimalistic tendencies that made his remix of Lucid’s “Lovely In Love” such a success, “Somewhere Secret” is without a doubt the standout track of the release. It’s also probably the most club-ready of the three original offerings, with a more persistent kick drum and thick reverb that fills every corner of the stereo field. What really sets this track off, though, is a vibrato-coated synth line that comes in around the three minute mark, sounding like something from a Spaghetti Western set in the future.

Pelican Fly has always been discerning on the remix front, only featuring producers whose styles round out and complement the original tracks (this is even more impressive considering the amount of remixes included on each release). And with four remixes from the likes of Marcus Price, DJ Sliink, Max Le Daron & Javier Estrada, and Canblaster, On The Track definitely follows the no-filler pattern. It’s hard to play favorites with such a solid and diverse selection, but standouts for us would have to be Max Le Daron & Javier Estrada’s 3-ball flavored remix of “Don’t Do” and Marcus Price’s bulletproof treatment of “I Think,” which is arguably the most straightforward dance track on the release. All in all, this EP is another victory for Richelle and Pelican Fly, and we give it our highest recommendation.